Chapter 11
“Haha, you’re quite the beast tamer, I’ll save you the trouble of an escort.”
Bakken’s voice sounded excited for some reason. I didn’t know what an escort had to do with taming beasts, so I just smiled awkwardly and tried to excuse myself.
“Ah, I’m a little worried that you’ll end up handling Sir Oscar as well as Rudd, Princess, so please be gentle with him.”
“After all, why don’t you just die right now?”
… If you’re not busy.
***
“I thought you were dead, but you’re alive.”
A languid, yet strangely sharp voice filled the deserted office, and the white shirt around his chiseled, handsome body pulled taut and loosened in time to the sound of a fountain pen scribbling across paper.
“Holy… You’re sending me to the netherworld for being away for half an hour?”
The atmosphere was chilling enough to make anyone cringe. But Bakken smirked, as if he was used to Thierry’s sarcastic behavior upon my arrival.
“So, my dying comrade is going to be a Princess.”
Thierry didn’t react at all to Bakken’s relaxed demeanor, his usual stern demeanor all but gone. Rather, at the sneering afterword, the gaze that had been fixed on the papers the entire time, whether he’d come near or not, lifted slowly and hesitantly.
A chill flickered in his red eyes, and Bakken immediately held up both palms. As if he was trying to calm a wild beast.
“Come on, I’m only here to do what the Emperor asked me to do.”
Thierry dropped the papers he was holding and leaned back in his chair.
“The only thing I’ve asked you to do is escort her.”
“Oh, and Oscar happens to be with the Princess.”
Bakken said in a nonchalant tone and picked up the papers Thierry had set down.
“… Why?”
“We must have run into each other. Not only was Oscar there, but Ludwig was too. They were even making themselves at home.”
“They were lying together?”
Thierry’s face slowly hardened. His voice, lowered to a creepy pitch, rumbled huskily in his throat.
After checking the papers, Bakken set them aside and cupped one hand over my mouth. His brow drew together to hide the corner of his mouth that puckered up in a way that belied the seriousness of his words.
“Mmmm- I think they know each other.”
“Know each other…?”
“They seem so close. I wonder if it’s possible for them to be that comfortable, and I wonder if they were married in a past life.”
“What? A married couple?”
Bakken glanced at Thierry, who repeated the question in disbelief, then smirked.
For a moment, a tremendous sense of intimidation poured from Thierry, a chilling glare that made him shudder, but Bakken withstood it and gave him a questioning glance.
“You’d better make sure you… Your lines, and don’t do anything you’ll regret later.”
“The only thing I regret is leaving Lari alone. Go take care of this when you have a moment.”
At Thierry’s change of subject, tossing a stack of papers onto his desk as if he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, Bakken raised both eyebrows as if to say, “Do as you please.”
“Ah- the slum fire?”
Bakken flipped through the papers he’d been handed and narrowed his brow in disbelief.
“It was suspicious enough without this, so I thought I’d go see for myself. It’s a big fire, otherwise I wouldn’t have known it was there, and twelve people burned to death, and every single one of them has more than just burns on their bodies? I smell something.”
“So go check it out for yourself. What the hell was done to them before they died.”
“Mmm… I see. Speaking of which, the Duke of Joubert is insisting on having an Empress in the midst of all this, and he’s made a brilliant connection between the fire and the empty throne. What, he thinks a hostess will stabilize the country? Haha, he’s so transparent about his purpose.”
“I’ll just cut him down.”
“Hang in there. He’s simple and easy to handle, and he’s secretly recruiting nobles to join his side, so we should eavesdrop on what he’s saying.”
Bakken smiled brightly, as if deeply satisfied. His sparkling blue eyes slid to a pile of papers on one side of his desk.
“That’s the reviewed paperwork? I’ll take it.”
“…, but did you find out something?”
“Huh? Like what?”
“…”
“Aaah- Princess?”
Bakken’s smirk shone in Thierry’s bloodshot eyes as he stared at her, almost glaring.
“Haha, I didn’t recognize you. I didn’t get it the first time. Excuse me, Your Majesty, why don’t you put the sword down?”
“Tell me.”
“No, just, I found a curious coincidence…”
“Don’t cut me off, say it all at once.”
“Very well, put the sword away. It’s no big deal, and I told you I sensed a trace of twisted magic.”
Bakken recalled a time when he had traveled near the Kingdom of Ashtad to investigate a country with suspected elven connections.
“It was vague, not as strong as the first time I met her, but I checked and it turns out that was the day Princess Alicia woke up.”
“It was a twisted aura of magic that I felt the day she woke up…”
Bakken quirked a brow at Thierry’s serious, pensive expression.
“I see. Strange coincidence, huh?”
***
I had practically carpeted the grass with Rudd, so when I got back to the palace, I soaked in the bathtub and played in the early evening. I lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, my eyes slowly closing and opening.
‘I’ll just skip dinner and go to bed early.’
The walk itself was fine, but the unexpected people I met made me feel even more tired.
The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if they were just trying to catch me off guard with all of the silly conversations in front of a Princess from another country.
‘…? Is that a real thing?’
Suddenly, I realized that having a personal escort means that I’m being watched.
Is he trying to blackmail Ashtad by exploiting my weaknesses, so he can make himself look good by throwing a tantrum in front of me?
‘… Tsk, tsk, no.’
Maybe it’s just a warning to stay out of Thierry’s way, to be a good boy. Okay, that makes more sense.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that whatever the intention, it was all bad for me.
“Ugh – why does everything seem to be going wrong?”
I hadn’t been in Podia for more than a few days, but my goal of keeping things quiet had been met with a growing sense of concern.
I thought, “No way. As frustrating as it is, I think I’ll just stay in my room and not go outside for a while. I’m sure I won’t have to deal with my personal escort…”
Oh, I don’t know.
My eyes drifted closed in contemplation. The shadows in the room lengthened as the light outside the window turned scarlet.
Knock.
“Hmph.”
I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected knock on the door.
“Princess, may I come in?”
“… Come in.”
I rolled over, stifling a yawn, and looked up at Marie as she entered the room.
“I apologize for disturbing your rest. It’s just that His Majesty has invited you to a state dinner.”
“When?”
“This evening.”
“Alas, it is this evening… Huh? Today?!”
It was the sound that broke my sleep. I sat up quickly, eyes wide open.
“Yes. He asked you to meet him in the main palace dining room in half an hour.”
Thirty minutes, that’s a lot of notice. I vaguely thought that we would have a meal together someday, but not today! Just thinking about it made me crave digestive medicine.
‘I’m going to …’
I staggered to my feet and blinked at Marie as she fetched the dress.
I hate it. I wonder how many more times I’ll bleed while talking.
I hope she doesn’t catch any pods today, I thought, and with the determination not to give her the slightest hint, I finished getting ready at lightning speed and headed for the main palace.
“You’re home early.”
As expected, I heard the sound of the blood-drying machine starting up as soon as I reached the formal dining room. It wasn’t even time for the appointment yet, but why were they here so soon?
I smiled wryly, fluffed the hem of my skirt, and greeted him.
Beneath his broad shoulders, his pectoralis major and abs were clearly defined, tightly woven with muscle. It’s curious that despite his massive skeleton and muscles, his body lines look delicate and sleek.
